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Our editor-at-large, Emmanuel Rincón, sat down exclusively with young NBA star Jonathan Isaac to talk about his book Why I Stand, in which he describes the religious and personal values that led him not to kneel before the national anthem.
The Orlando Magic basketball player explained to El American that his decision not to join his teammates in the Black Lives Matter protest is because he “does not believe it is the solution” to America’s problems.
“I do not believe that kneeling for the National Anthem or wearing a Black Lives Matter t-shirt was the answer to the real problem. What I understood was that America was in a time of needing to heal from what happened with George Floyd, Covid, everything is going crazy. I understood that racism and all the things that played the hearts of men are hard issues, and a movement, an organization, a political party, a president, cannot change the hearts of men,” Isaac explains.
Isaac, a man of strong Christian values, believes that God is the only thing capable of “changing men’s hearts,” and he uses his own testimony as an example.
In fact, the NBA player believes that the world needs, more than faith, “a real relationship with Christ,” which he describes as the moral basis for the principles of modern society.
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Emmanuel Rincón is a lawyer, writer, novelist and essayist. He has won several international literary awards. He is Editor-at-large at El American // Emmanuel Rincón es abogado, escritor, novelista y ensayista. Ganador de diversos premios literarios internacionales. Es editor-at-large en El American
Tomás Lugo, journalist and writer. Born in Venezuela and graduated in Social Communication. Has written for international media outlets. Currently living in Colombia // Tomás Lugo, periodista y articulista. Nacido en Venezuela y graduado en Comunicación Social. Ha escrito para medios internacionales. Actualmente reside en Colombia.